The rifle grenade is a weapon which is fired with a common rifle. Its head is a grenade, either antipersonnel or antitank or other type (e.g. smoke grenade, etc.). The acceleration of this grenade is realized with a ballistic cartridge in the rifle, which is usually a blank and of the same caliber as the rifle.
The charge weight of this cartridge must not exceed certain limits to avoid the danger of early wear of the rifle barrel. As the weight of this charge is thus limited and the weight of these grenades is much larger than the weight of the bullet of a common cartridge of the rifle, the firing range of these rifle grenades is very limited (usually between 200 and 300 meters) and is not in a straight trajectory, but has a firing angle of about 45.degree., which attains the maximum shooting distance.
Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of prior art ballistic systems, particularly those of the type used to fire rifle grenades.
It is a more specific object of the invention to increase the range of ballistic systems of the type used to propel rifle grenades.
It is another object of the present invention to improve the target aiming capability of ballistic systems of the type used to propel rifle grenades.
It is also an object of the present invention to achieve the foregoing improvements to ballistic systems without a significant increase in their cost, while preserving the reliability of such systems in use.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the propulsion system, also referred to as a "propulsion tail" for a load such as a rifle grenade is provided with a main body that includes an extra blank ballistic cartridge, which is fired after the load (e.g. a rifle grenade) has been shot away from the rifle.
This delayed firing is achieved with the help of a special double firing mechanism which can have many other applications such as in the construction of time fuses of artillery shells or other ballistic devices, without the use of mechanical timing mechanisms and such.
This double firing mechanism serves a dual purpose: first, for the firing of the ballistic cartridge in the propulsion tail of the rifle grenade through a firing delay column; and second, for the explosion of the grenade either directly upon its hitting on a solid surface or through another delay column for its explosion after a certain specified time of flight.
In a preferred embodiment described here, the additional blank ballistic cartridge is illustrated in use in the tail tube of a rifle grenade, and a preferred construction and method of operation of the double firing mechanism are described. However, the description is merely exemplary and is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention.